Dennis M. Wade

Partner
Dennis M. Wade

Dennis M. Wade

Office:
New York
Education:
J.D. Fordham University,
B.A. Hobart College, magna cum laude
Tel:
+1 212 267 1900

Professional Experience

Dennis M. Wade is a founding partner of WCM.

Dennis conducts a diverse defense practice that calls upon his trial and advocacy skills in courts across the country and in international arbitral forums.  Dennis focuses his practice on complex commercial and insurance law defense.  Dennis tries high exposure casualty cases, complex insurance, errors and omissions, and professional indemnity matters.

For more than 20 years Dennis has handled fine art and specie matters for domestic and international insurers.  His cases have taken him across the United States and to many parts of the world.  Recently, for example, Dennis successfully defended a major art insurer against a 42 million dollar claim.  That defense took Dennis from a New York Trial Court, to the Appellate Division, to the Court of Appeals (New York’s top Court), and ultimately, to the United States Supreme Court.  Beside defense and coverage work in these areas, Dennis has recovered stolen art and diamonds throughout the United States and has collaborated with counsel to achieve recoveries in Europe and elsewhere in the world.

Because of his specialized expertise and professional background, Dennis is also frequently called upon to investigate and advise clients in matters in which fraudulent activity is suspected.  He is an experienced trial and appellate attorney in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Dennis enjoys the highest legal rating, “AV Preeminent,” reflecting confidential opinions solicited from the Bar and Judiciary.  Dennis was elected to membership in the Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel (FDCC).  FDCC is composed of leaders in the legal community who have achieved professional distinction as recognized by peers and clients in a highly selective nomination process.

Before entering private practice, Dennis devoted his energies to the investigation and prosecution of organized crime cases as the Deputy Chief of the Rackets Bureau of the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.  During his six years as an ADA, Dennis prosecuted high-level members of the Gambino and Bonnano crime families, violent felons from gangs such as The Ghost Shadows and Flying Dragons and corrupt public officials.

Professional Activities

Dennis frequently lectures on insurance issues and trial practice techniques. He is a faculty member at the Association of the Bar of the City of New York’s Civil Trial Section as well as the Defense Research Institute’s First Party Insurance Committee. Dennis serves as a member of the Tort and Insurance Committees of the American, New York and New Jersey State Bar Associations. Dennis is a member of the Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel, the Council on Litigation Management, The National Arts Club, and the Armadillo Club.

Dennis has appeared as an expert witness on points of American insurance law in the High Court of England and Wales, and has been admitted pro hac vice in various state and federal courts across the country.

Publications and Speaking Engagements

  • The Art of Insuring Art:  Federal Bar Association Art & Litigation Conference.  February 6, 2020
  • The Multi-Faceted Examination Under Oath: New York State Bar Association Coverage Update (with co-author Michael Gauvin). Spring, 2019
  • Art at Risk: John’s University Center for Executive Education. Dennis lectured on the legal aspects of Fine Art Claims.  May 16, 2019
  • The Business of Art Observed: New York’s Roosevelt Hotel.  Dennis lectured on insurance and risk management issues in today’s competitive art world.  May 21, 2019
  • Money, Power, Beauty: The Value of Art: Federal Bar Association Art Law and Litigation Seminar, Miami, Florida, 2017
  • The Poison Pill?  Settling Damage Claims Involving Living Artists (co-author Michael A. Bono): International Fine Art and Specie Conference. Rome, Italy, 2017
  • Recent Developments in First and Third Party Bad Faith Rulings (New York State Bar Association May 2017 Seminar: Updates and Hot Trending Topics Affecting Insurance Coverage) (co-author Michael Gauvin)
  • CounterPoint: Pennsylvania Defense Institute:  Assault on the Citadel of Privilege (with co-author Colleen E. Hayes). February 2017
  • 9th Annual Art Litigation and Dispute Resolution Practice Institute: The Collision Between Art & Insurance Law—And A Word About VARA’s Impact on the Collision. November, 2016
  • International Fine Art and Specie Conference, Athens, Greece, 2016, Workshop: Guilt, Innocence and Coverage under JB policies (Co-presenter: Michael Bono).
  • Some thoughts on the Art of Persuasion: Aristotle to Steve Jobs: 2016 (Georgetown University, Leadership Development Program).
  • Insurance Issues in Art Law:  (Fordham University School of Law). 2016
  • How Using A Professional Engineer Can Help You Win: (New York State Bar Association: 2016 Law School for Insurance Professionals—September 2016) (co-author with Daniel Beatty).
  • Attorney Client Privilege Under Attack: (Philadelphia Association of Defense Counsel: December 2015) (Co-Author Colleen Hayes)
  • Deposition Boot Camp: Dennis recently served as faculty member at a program sponsored by the Federation of Defense & Corporate Counsel designed to hone the deposition skills of young lawyers. Dennis focused on the examination of plaintiffs and expert witnesses. November 2014.
  • International Fine Arts and Specie Conference, Malta, 2014: Workshop: Getting It Back: The Challenges of Recovering Stolen Property – – United States v. European Union (Co-Presenter: Giando Boglione).
  • Assault on the Citadel of Privilege: Bad Facts Make Really Bad Law (New York State Bar Association Seminar: 2014 Law School for Insurance Professionals) (Co-Author: Michael Gauvin).
  • MARKET BRIEFING: Sandy’s Impact on Fine Art and Property Insurers – IUA Event: London – November 2013 (co-author with Michael Bono).
  • Liability for Sporting and Recreational Activities: A Balancing Act (New York State Bar Association Seminar: Premises Liability – What You Need to Know in New York, March 2015) (co-author with Alison Weintraub).
  • A Carnival for the Skeptic: Using Social Media In Claim And Defense Litigation – (The New York State Bar Association Seminar: 2013 Law School for Insurance Professionals – October 2013) (co-author with Michael Gauvin).
  • UNCHARTED WATERS: Coverage Litigation After SuperStorm Sandy – (The New York State Bar Association Seminar: Advanced Insurance Coverage: Hot Topics, Touch Issues and a Look Ahead – May 2013 (co-author Steven M. Kaye, Jr).
  • The Examination Before Trial – Honing your Deposition Skills in Tort and Personal Injury Cases (New York State Bar Association, May 2012, Program Chair).
  • What Fine Art Insurers Really Need to Know About The Visual Artists Rights Act (VARA) (co-author with Michael A. Bono).
  • The Anatomy of a Bust Out: The Implications of Bankruptcy and Bankruptcy Fraud for Property, Fine Art and Specie Insurers (International Underwriting Association, London, England, November 2011 – co-author with Michael A. Bono).
  • Liability for Sporting and Recreational Activities: A Balancing Act (New York State Bar Association Seminar: Premises Liability – What You Need to Know in New York, April 2011) (co-author with Alison Weintraub).
  • Recent Landmark Insurance Decisions: A Guided Tour (New York State Bar Association Seminar: 2010 Law School for Insurance Professionals – More than the Basics, September 2010).
  • Into the Serbonian Bog: A Consideration of Extra-Contractual Damages Under Bad Faith Theories in First Party Litigation (New York State Bar Association Seminar: 2010 Insurance Coverage Update: Insurance Coverage Issues in the Commercial General Liability Policy – Emerging Issues for the Next Decade, June 2010).
  • Mediation for the Casualty Adjuster (Liability Insurance Research Bureau, San Antonio, TX March 2010).
  • Defending Underwriters, Claim Professionals and Brokers in US Coverage Litigation (International Underwriting Association, London, England, November 2009) (co-author with Michael A. Bono).
  • The Anatomy of a Premises Case (New York State Bar Association: Claims University, October 2009).
  • Transferring Risk: The Interplay Between Contractual Indemnity Agreements and Additional Insured Coverage (New York State Bar Association Seminar: Additional Insured Coverage: Hot Topics & Critical Issues for 2009, May 2009).
  • Getting it Back: Recovering Stolen Property in the United States (International Underwriting Association, October 2008) (co-author with Michael A. Bono).
  • The Employee Exclusion in a Contractor’s CGL Policy and Related Limiting Endorsements (New York State Bar Association Spring Coverage Seminar, May 2008).
  • Behind the Curtain: An Insider’s Guide to Mediation (Liability Insurance Research Bureau, Seattle, WA April 2008).
  • Defending the Insurance Professional in Coverage and Bad Faith Litigation (International Underwriting Association, December 2006).
  • The Intellectual Property Claim: A Strategic Approach To Analyzing Coverage And Defense Issues (Liability Insurance Research Bureau, April 2007).
  • Into the Vortex – New Duty for Insurance Defense Counsel?, 237 N.Y.L.J. 61 (2007) (co-author with David F. Tavella).
  • The World After ”Pecker”: A Case of Unintended Consequences, 236 N.Y.L.J. 36 (2006) (co-author with David F. Tavella).
  • No-Prejudice Rule Lives (Apparently), 232 N.Y.L.J. 115 (2004) (co-author with David F. Tavella).
  • The Emerging Doctrine of Contractual Contribution, 228 N.Y.L.J. 98 (2002) (co-author with David F. Tavella).
  • Brokers and Agents are not “Professionals,” 226 N.Y.L.J. 52 (2001) (co-author with David F. Tavella).
  • The Direct Examination of the Lay and Expert Witness, in A Guide to Civil Trials in New York State Supreme Court (Association of the Bar of the City of New York) (1999).
  • The Many-Faceted Examination Under Oath, Defense Research Institute (Spring 1999).

Bar Admissions

  • New York
  • Southern District of New York
  • Eastern District of New York
  • Western District of New York
  • Northern District of New York
  • United States Court of Appeals, Second Circuit
  • United States Court of Appeals, Third Circuit
  • United States Supreme Court
  • New Jersey
  • District of New Jersey
  • Pennsylvania
  • Eastern District of Pennsylvania

Honors and Distinctions

Dennis is a magna cum laude graduate of Hobart College, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and was awarded the Boswell and Crawford prizes for scholarship in the humanities.